Bates, Grill lead Mizzou to third top-20 win of season
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
No. 22 Mizzou men's basketball has added a third win over a ranked opponent to its resume.
The Tigers (16-4) stayed perfect at defending their home court this season, defeating No. 16 Ole Miss (15-5) 83-75 for their 15th straight win inside Mizzou Arena.
You can watch extended highlights from the win in the video player below.
Caleb Grill and Tamar Bates propelled their team to keep its perfect home record alive. The duo dropped a combined 48 points on the Rebels, catapulting MU to a tie for third place in the SEC standings.
You can watch the full postgame press conference with head coach Dennis Gates, as well as Grill and Bates in the video player below.
Ole Miss quickly put some pressure on Mizzou by beginning the game on an 8-0 scoring run, featuring a pair of three-pointers from Jaylen Murray and Sean Pedulla. However, the Tigers rallied to score 12 straight points in under three minutes to take a four-point lead.
From there, MU and Ole Miss were locked in a back-and-forth battle with neither team manufacturing a lead higher than three possessions in the first half. Mizzou managed to build a nine-point advantage on two different occasions in the first 20 minutes but could not crack double-digits.
The Rebels cut their 38-31 halftime deficit down to just three points at the 10:15-mark of the second half with a second-chance layup from Pedulla. However, the Tigers outscored the visitors 14-5 for the next five minutes of play to assemble a 12-point advantage, their biggest lead of the contest.
Mizzou maintained at least a three-score lead for the remainder of the game to secure its fifth SEC win of the 2024-25 season.
Bates and Grill were the only two Tigers to reach double figures but each of them reached the 20-point mark. Bates recorded a game-high 26 points while Grill scored 22 points in the contest. The duo also combined for nine three-pointers and shot at least 50% from the field.
Up next - Mizzou tips off a two-game road trip with a second straight top-20 test. The Tigers travel to Starkville to face No. 14 Mississippi State at Humphrey Coliseum on Saturday, Feb. 1 at 12 p.m.